Prep football: Gulf Coast alum Fominaya hopes to turn around Sharks

A glimpse at the Gulf Coast High football team as they head into the 2012 season

Gulf Coast High alum Pete Fominaya enters his first season as head coach of the Sharks football team. Scott Clair/Citizen Correspondent

NAPLES - It was American novelist Thomas Wolfe who famously wrote, "You can't go back home again."

Don't tell that to new Gulf Coast football coach Pete Fominaya.

Hired in January to replace Andrew Miranti, Fominaya returns to his alma mater, where he played for the Sharks before graduating in 2000.

Formerly an assistant at Naples High, Fominaya coached Lehigh for the past three season, turning a losing program into a winner by leading the Lightning to the playoffs twice.

His task will be a similar one at Gulf Coast, which went 5-16 the past two seasons.

"How do you turn a team that has had a bit of a losing tradition the last couple of years into a team that's going to learn how to win pretty soon?" said Fominaya. "The biggest thing you can put into a football player is for him to learn how to control his attitude and effort, to go into every situation and work as hard as he can.

"Since being hired, I've seen a big transition in attitudes as far as what's acceptable and what's not from the players and coaches. I've seen a sense of unity as the kids come together as a football team. That has me really excited."

The Sharks will again play in Class 7A-District 11 with three Charlotte County schools: Port Charlotte, Lemon Bay and Charlotte.

Leading the way for the Sharks new pro-style offense that will mainly feature the run is junior quarterback Zimon Brennan, who saw time as a starter last season.

"Our quarterback is very athletic," Fominaya said. "We'll look to get the ball in his hands as often as we can. I've seen so much growth out of him. He's taken on a leadership role and has taken that responsibility on his back. I'm very happy to see how he has matured and I'm excited about coaching him. Zimon has a lot of tools and strengths. Our job as coaches is to put him in the best position to succeed."

After playing two years at Barron Collier, Fominaya transferred to Gulf Coast in 1998, the school's first year. Back then he played for coach Todd Wilson on the Sharks first football team.

"The big thing then was building traditions," Fominaya said. "Now I come back here in 2012 and we're in kind of at the same place. We're back to building tradition again and a winning attitude. It's been fun to get back into the community that I grew up in. I'm a North Naples kid. To be back is something I'm real proud of. Just watching how the identity of the school has changed is amazing. It's a great honor to be back. I look forward to a long career here."